my first experience with " glue and rivet" repair was on the e60 5series bmw's...the front sections on these cars as well as the 6 series were made of aluminum.....the only way to repair damaged rails and aprons was to cut and fully replace....needless to say the motor had to come out and you needed to adhere to specific procedures you were taught at the training facility......i had to invest in special machinery and tools.....must admit when i first heard of this way back when i was very skeptical but now i realize how ahead of the curve bmw was and has always been.....plenty of other manufacturers have followed suit.....

the new sheetmetal including the roof panel are fitted and adjusted.....during this process alot of measuring and trial fitting happens....a tramm gauge is the tool of choice.....it allows cross measuring and other types of comparitive measurements that are crucial for proper alignment....

after everything is aligned , all the welding is done using both a mig welder and an inverted spot welder.....a little grinding on the seams and now your ready for a little body filler and then some glasurit primer....

btw.....whoever edited the contents of my first post and re-named the thread did an awesome job....yes my thoughts were jumbled together and the title didn't really grab attention.....

everything is masked up for primer then after some wetsanding it gets retaped and put in the booth for final topcoat application....

all the rest of the damaged sheetmetal parts were replaced with new oem pieces..... hood, left side fender, and both doors...... the right side fender,both quarters and the trunk lid were repaired.....

Tons of hard work, and the work is looking good.
FWIW: on this particular car, with the roof replacement and all, interior is completely out of the car. Have you considered doing a half roll cage like the GTS M3? For strength purposes/safety.........and also easy sale to a track oriented person?

Tons of hard work, and the work is looking good.
FWIW: on this particular car, with the roof replacement and all, interior is completely out of the car. Have you considered doing a half roll cage like the GTS M3? For strength purposes/safety.........and also easy sale to a track oriented person?

order it from alpha-n, they produce it themselves in absolute superb quality equal to BMW CSL quality. Price is 1517Euro + tax + shipping.
I am their importer for switzerland and never saw such a quality for the price they ask (an additional big +), all of them is OEM quality or better and they are very very supportive and customer friendly. The reason I took them onbaord and can fully recommand it to everybody. Additional they have style, check out there parts for 1M, the only one the complements the design and give just the extra small detail that was missed (eg the flaps and difussor) without overdoing.
Have there parts on my car to, but not the roof due to garantuee issues.

Great work. At least now I know where to go God forbid something happens to mine.

No kidding. This shop is most likely the most experienced body shop in North America for repairing 1Ms. Maybe this thread should be stickied for those unfortunate 1M owners finding themselves in need of a good shop.

I am curious whether the OP contemplated repainting any of the cars in something besides VO or AW. The cars already have a history of major body work, so I would think a custom paint color would only add value.

finally got my hands on #740.....transporter delayed it a day.... was pleasantly surprised that there were no major issues.... all the damage looks easily repairable.....i'll probably start a new thread dedicated to showing the whole repair process.....also, seems as though this coupe has some mods done to it...details and pictures to follow....

finally got my hands on #740.....transporter delayed it a day.... was pleasantly surprised that there were no major issues.... all the damage looks easily repairable.....i'll probably start a new thread dedicated to showing the whole repair process.....also, seems as though this coupe has some mods done to it...details and pictures to follow....

finally got my hands on #740.....transporter delayed it a day.... was pleasantly surprised that there were no major issues.... all the damage looks easily repairable.....i'll probably start a new thread dedicated to showing the whole repair process.....also, seems as though this coupe has some mods done to it...details and pictures to follow....

Maybe you should consider making this car a "frozen VO"

Did you see this VO 1M that was seen at the //M Festival at the Nurburgring. It was reported the owner had a body shop(in Germany) wet sand off the clear coat to get this "frozen look" color.